John became a sailor at the age of eleven—and you know what they say about sailors. John was no cherub-like do-gooder. After his mother died, he joined his father on six voyages before he was pressed into service on a man-of-war. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted—but was soon recaptured and publicly flogged. He was demoted from midshipman to common seaman. Eventually he was exchanged into service on a slave ship and became the servant of a slave trader who brutally abused him. In time, John was rescued by a sea captain who had known John’s father—but John needed another kind of salvation. He continued down the path of destruction, this time as the captain of his own ship, one which plied the slave trade.

John needed a u-turn.

One day, on a homeward voyage, while attempting to steer through a violent storm, John experienced his “great deliverance,” crying out to God for mercy when all seemed lost—and was truly saved this time. Physically, yes; but more importantly, his soul was saved. Gratitude overcame him, and for the rest of his life he observed the anniversary of May 10, 1748 as the day of his conversion. Today we sing with gratitude the great hymn “Amazing Grace,” which this "wretch," John Newton, wrote in response to work Christ did in him: “I once was lost but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”

Thoughts posted by Heather Gemmen